To Save a Life
by xOxbabii.girl.flying.solo.xOx
Summary: How far would you go... How much would you risk... How hard would you fight... To Save a Life?
1. Chapter 1

"Shit," Troy Bolton cursed, slamming his gym locker shut hard. The metal clanged loudly and he turned on his heel and through his duffle bag over his shoulder. He ran a hand through his long and thick wet hair, as a loud grunt passed from his plump pink lips. He sighed again, leaving the locker room, the door banging shut behind him. He was surprised to find Tiffany standing at the gym's double doors, a sympathetic look on her face.

She walked toward him, her Stiletto heels clicking, and her fake blonde hair swishing behind her. "Troy," she whispered, her voice thickly sweet. She offered him a sympathetic gesture, placing her hand gently on his shoulder.

Troy shrugged her hand away and shook his head. "Not now, Tiff." He slid past her, his shoulder bumping hers as he did so. He walked straight for the double doors, not so much as glancing at her as he went.

"I'm just trying to help," she called after him. She ran to catch up with him. "What's the big deal? It's not like you even knew the kid."

Troy turned around to face her, a grimace on his face. "Like you know," he said, his voice gruff and hoarse. He felt tears brimming his cobalt blue eyes but he quickly blinked them away. He was _not _going to cry. Troy Bolton, the most popular guy in school, was not going to cry. "You only like me because I'm popular."

"I'm sorry," Tiffany said softly. "I didn't know you and whatever his name was-"

"His name was Chad," Troy interrupted her rudely. "You've got to give him some credit."

"Credit?" Tiffany almost shrieked. "The kid brought a gun to school and shot himself… In front of half the school! How the hell can you give a freak like that credit, or even respect?"

Troy pushed the double doors open and turned into the school's almost empty hallway. The bell had rung fifteen or so minutes ago. And only stragglers had remained inside. Especially not after what half of them had just witnessed. Troy could still picture it now…

"_Dude!" Troy yelled, high-fiving his friend Jason. "How's it goin' man?"_

"_Great, baby," Jason grinned, as they did their secret handshake, knowing every eye in the hall was currently on them. But something suddenly distracted Jason, and he turned to look down the hall, just as everyone else had. Chad Danforth, one of the total dorks of the school, came walking down the hallway. It wasn't anything new, everyone stared at him, anywhere he went._

"It's not like that," Troy sighed, giving Tiffany another piercing look. "You don't get it."

"Explain it to me," Tiffany replied, hands on her hips, stopping in the middle of the hall in front of Troy, making him come to a stop as well.

_It was different this time. Something was odd. Troy could feel it in his stomach. The air was tense, so was everyone else. People sucked in their breaths as Chad stopped in the hallway, standing right in front of Troy and Jason. Everyone stared, wide-eyed at Chad as he held the gun up to his head._

"It was his last plea for help," Troy whispered. "Someone should have stopped him… He wanted someone to stop him."

_Chad gave Troy a sad look._

"_Chad, don't do this," Troy said, holding his hands up, and taking two small steps toward Chad. "You don't have to do this."_

"_What's it to you?" Chad asked, giving Troy a nasty glare. His finger shook on the trigger of the gun. "You never cared." And he pulled the trigger._

Troy shook his head, trying to rid the memory of his brain. But it didn't work like that. It wouldn't go away that easily. "That was why he did it in front of everyone. It was a plea for help."

Tiffany shook her head. "Baby, I think you're going crazy. This isn't your fault. You didn't do anything. The kid just went insane… That's all. There was nothing you, or anyone else, could have done to stop him. He chose to do that."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Forget it. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Tiffany sighed. "So there's this party at Jason's tonight, right? Are you going?"

Troy nodded, pulling himself together as much as he could. "Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Tiffany smiled and took Troy's hand in hers. "Good. Give me a ride?"

* * *

"What's wrong?" Tiffany asked, noting that Troy looked a little out of it tonight.

"What?" Troy immediately snapped out of his daze. "Oh, sorry. Nothing."

"Gabriella Montez?" Tiffany almost yelled suddenly. "What the hell is she doing here? Isn't she, like, a Bible-hugger or something?"

Troy looked to follow Tiffany's gaze across the room. She was glaring at the girl standing in the corner with her friend. They were both looking rather intrigued as they watched the drunk people dancing around in front of them. She was short and petite. Her dark curly hair was pulled back into a sloppy bun on top of her head, leaving a few curls down to frame her face. She had a heart-shaped face and flawless skin. Her eyes were an intense shade of chocolate brown. She was dressed in a pair of hip-hugging skinny jeans and a purple tank top.

Troy snorted loudly. "I've never even seen that chick in my life. Her friend looks a bit familiar, though…" Troy spoke in Tiffany's ear, trying to remember the girls.

Her friend was taller than she was and a bit bigger than she was. She was African American. Her hair had been tamed into dark waves. Her eyes were a very dark brown, making her skin tone pop. She was dressed in a pair of stone-washed jeans and a v-neck pink shirt, with a pink tank under it.

"Yeah, they're in our homeroom," Tiffany said, a hint of jealousy in her voice as she turned back to Troy. She started to grind intensely with him. "They are total freaks. They were friends with that kid who shot himself…"

Troy suddenly looked up. "They were?"

Tiffany nodded and then rolled her eyes, placing Troy's hands on her hips, trying to get him to move more intensely with her, trying to increase their speed, and make things more hot. She flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder and moaned as Troy's hands slid down to her butt. "But who cares about them?" She whispered, trying to be seductive. "This is our time. Wanna go upstairs?"

Troy's eyes widened. "What? Hell yeah."

Tiffany smiled and took Troy's hand and they took off running up the stairs. Troy shut the door behind them, and his lips immediately attacked Tiffany's. He pushed her back onto the bed, climbing on top of her. "Are you a virgin?" She asked him, her fingers trailing down his chest.

Troy nodded and swallowed hard. "Not for long."

* * *

"We are gathered here today…" The minister was saying.

But Troy was paying hardly any attention to him. He watched the few people who were standing around the gravesite. It was a sad thing to witness; a funeral. The few people that were there were crying. The most sad thing of all, though, was that Troy knew every single one of them. Chad's aunt and uncle, and grandma, and mom, and cousin. All of Chad's small family. Troy knew every single one of them. That was because he and Chad had been best friends growing up.

Troy's eyes traveled over to where Dana, Chad's mom, was standing. She was sobbing silently into a handkerchief. But what interested him most were the two girls standing right next to her. Gabriella Montez was rubbing her back and crying too. Taylor McKessie held her hand tightly, as her own tears slipped slowly down her face. Troy stood in the back, watching Chad's few friends and family cry and mourn, feeling completely out of place, as the minister continued to talk and talk.

Without Troy noticing, once the ceremony was over, Dana had made her way over to him. She approached him and Troy saw how much different she looked since the last time he'd seen her; more than three years ago. Her hair was still light brown, but there were gray streaks in It at random places. Her face had more wrinkles, and she had bags and purple circles under her eyes, which were red and raw from her crying. But yet, she smiled at Troy, the warmest smile Troy had ever seen in a long time.

"Troy," she choked out, her voice hoarse, as if she hadn't talked in ages. She gave him a tight hug. "You've grown up so much."

"I-I- yeah…" Troy stuttered to find the words to say, but his voice didn't seem to want to work. He couldn't find the right words. I'm sorry your son is dead? He was a good kid? How could he say any of that when they hadn't even spoken in years?

She looked at him, her smile fading, her face becoming more serious, which made her look even more old. "Did h-he… Did he s-say anything to y-you about… About…?" She couldn't seem to finish her sentence.

Troy couldn't blame her. Being in the state she was, how could anyone blame her. "No," Troy replied.

Dana nodded. "Okay…" She gave Troy one last saddened smile before she turned to go be comforted by the rest of her family.

Troy turned to leave as well, but he was stopped by Gabriella Montez approaching him. She was dressed in black dress pants and a black sweater. Her hair was down and curly for the occasion. Her eyeliner and mascara was running down her face. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and sniffed quietly, stopping right in front of Troy.

"What?" Troy grunted, his voice a little more harsh than he'd meant.

"Why are you here?" Gabriella asked, her voice soft and sweet. "Is this some kind of closure for you or something?"

"No," Troy shook his head, avoiding Gabriella's gaze. "I was just leaving, thanks."

Gabriella grabbed Troy's arm, sending a weird electrical spark through his body. He gave her an odd look, only to find himself facing her skeptical face. "Why are you here?" She asked again. Troy wasn't sure if she was actually asking, or if she already knew. Something in her eyes was different, an emotion he'd never seen before.

Troy raised a thick eyebrow. "Why does it matter?"

"You didn't answer my question," Gabriella replied, her voice angelic. She turned to face Troy, almost forcing herself to look into his eyes. "You, Troy Bolton, the most popular guy in school, is here, when he could be at some lame party. Instead, you're at Chad Danforth's funeral, a boy who was extremely nice and smart, but totally unpopular, simply because he wasn't a basketball player. Again, why are you here exactly?"

Troy didn't know if she was trying to sound harsh and demanding or not. But it wasn't working out too well if she was. Her voice was too soft and sweet for that. He sent her another odd look, as if he needn't waste any time talking to her. He yanked his arm from her grip and started to walk away again.

"You're going to walk away just like that?" Gabriella asked. "Just like you walked away from Chad when he needed you the most?"

Troy turned around and gave her an ice cold glare. "How did you know?"

"He talked about you, Troy," Gabriella said, taking tiny steps to reach him again. "All the time. You guys used to be best friends."

"Well, then if you already knew, why did you ask why I was here?" Troy asked.

Gabriella looked him dead in the eyes. "I was trying to get you to open up, instead of being a walking, talking robot all of the time. I thought maybe you had some feelings locked up inside and you needed to talk. I guess I was wrong. Wouldn't be the first time, though." She brushed gently past Troy, earning him another electrical spark.

Troy's cobalt blue eyes followed her as she walked to join her friend. They linked arms and walked down to meet up with Dana again, where Troy assumed, they were exchanging comforting words and hugs and touches. He sighed loudly. He walked toward his old beat up blue pickup truck and climbed in, revving the engine up. He pulled out of the graveyard, passing Dana and the girls as he did this. Dana waved and smiled. Troy wanted to wave back, but he didn't. He just gave her a curt nod and drove on.

Guilt was what Troy felt in the pit of his stomach. Dana and Gabriella's words had only increased that feeling of guilt. But something, though he wasn't sure what, was telling him that everything was going to be okay, that Dana was going to be fine. And for the first time in three years, he needed to talk to the one person who could always make him feel better as kids, the one who could make him laugh, the one who wasn't here now; Chad Danforth.

**A/N: Okay, so I really want to know. How hard would you guys fight to save a life of someone, even if it was a stranger?**


	2. Chapter 2

Troy lay in his bed, squeezing his cobalt blue eyes tightly shut. He wasn't sleeping, but he was trying his hardest to. His iPod was on, and the earphones were in his ears, and the volume was turned up as loud as it would go without busting his eardrums. They were fighting again. His mom and dad. They had been doing a lot of that lately. Fighting. And it was only getting worse.

"You don't do anything around here!" His mom was yelling. "I do the dishes, I cook the food, I clean the house, I take care of your son!"

"Are you kidding?" Jack replied, his voice more risen and angry. "I work! I provide the dishes for you to clean, the food for you to cook, and this house for you to clean! I take care of Troy just as well as you do! He's my son for crying out loud! I'm the coach of his basketball team part-time and I also work as a lawyer!"

Troy felt his phone vibrate on his pillow. He sat up and took his earphones out of his ears. "Hello?" He asked, flipping the phone open.

"Hey," Tiffany said.

"Hey," Troy replied, disappointment obvious there. He wasn't sure who he had been hoping would call, but it definitely wasn't Tiffany. Sure, she was his girlfriend and sure, he had some sort of feelings for her… Didn't he?

"Don't get so ecstatic," Tiffany said. There was a slight 'pop' noise. Troy assumed she was chewing gum, like she always did. She had a problem with chewing gum and he often ended up with her gum in his mouth after the made out and kissed like they did.

Troy sighed. "Sorry… It's just… My parents are fighting again. And I'm kinda bored. Wanna hang out?" He asked, hopeful that he could sneak out of the house and do something.

"Can't," Tiffany replied, in an obvious voice. "I'm grounded."

"Again?" Troy asked, throwing his long legs over the side of the bed. "What did you do this time?"

Tiffany paused for a moment. "Absolutely nothing. But according to my dad, he's tired of my back talking, sneaking around, and lying… You know, all that shit. God. He's such a dick. And trust me, babe, I would sneak out, but I'm sure he'd catch me. He's still awake and he put up some fucking motion-censored lights out side. It's totally overboard."

Troy nodded and then, realizing she couldn't hear his head bobbing up and down, let out a small, "Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Well, I don't know what to do now. I'm bored and my parents are fighting like crazy."

As if on cue, Jack let out a loud frustrated noise form downstairs. "Why do you always have to complain about everything? I'm sorry I can't make you happy, okay Lucille? I'm sorry I'm not perfect!"

"I'm sorry, babe," Tiffany replied, trying to make herself sound sympathetic.

Troy knew it was fake, just like just about everything else about Tiffany. Her laugh was fake, her hair was fake, her boobs were fake. God, her personality was even fake as hell. Anyone could see right through that. "Me too," Troy replied quietly. "Hey, I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay." Tiffany said. "Love you."

"Yeah," Troy said, flipping the phone shut. He shoved it in his jean pocket and slipped on his tennis shoes. He walked over to his bedroom window and yanked it open. He climbed out, sliding down the side of the house. Once he feet his the lawn, he took off in a sprint, quick not to get caught by his mom and dad, who just so happened to be fighting by the window. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he needed to go somewhere. So he went to the first place he thought of. He stopped in front of Chad's house. He looked around nervously, hoping not to be seen by any of his friends.

Troy sighed loudly. "I'm sorry," he murmured under his breath, to no one in particular. And for the first time, he actually was sorry. For everything. Seeing Chad's house brought him back.

"_I got a new bike!" A thirteen-year old Chad exclaimed._

"_Ooh, let me ride it!" Troy pleaded with his best friend, as he stared at the red shiny new beauty in front of him. "Please."_

_Chad laughed. "Go ahead. I'll ride my old one."_

"_Thanks, bro," Troy grinned, climbing onto Chad's new bike. They pulled out of the garage and out of the driveway, peddling as fast as they could up the hill. The two were having so much fun that they weren't paying attention. Well, Troy wasn't. Chad pulled over and climbed off his bike, seeing the truck speeding toward Troy._

_He'd expected Troy to do the same thing. But Troy was laughing and peddling faster and the truck was only gaining speed, getting closer and closer to him. "Troy!" Chad yelled uselessly. Troy didn't seem to hear him. Chad ran toward Troy. The truck was so close now. Chad reached Troy just in time, pushing his hard out of the way. Troy hit the concrete of the road, but it was nothing compared to Chad. "Oww!" Chad yelled out in pain. Both of them looking down at his wound. His leg was broken._

"Sad isn't it?"

Troy's eyes flickered open, as he pulled himself back into reality. He turned around, to find the voice that had just spoken. A man stood just feet away from him. He was taller than Troy, with his brown hair gelled back. His eyes were curious. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He smelled of Axe cologne. He looked extremely familiar.

"You're Troy?" He asked.

Troy nodded, confused. "And you are…?"

"Oh, sorry. Right. I'm Jake Johnson. I was the preacher from Chad's funeral," Jim spoke soft. His voice wasn't too aggressive, but it wasn't too quiet either.

"Yeah, I thought I recognized you," Troy said. "What are you doing here?"

"I might ask you the same question," Jake asked, taking a few steps toward Troy. "I'm here because I needed to find peace. Now, why are you here?" He looked sincere, curious. His eyes reflected all of his thoughts, his face told the story of his past.

Troy squinted his eyes tightly together, rubbing his temples from the migraine that was coming on. "Um, I'm not sure. My parents were fighting. I needed to get out of the house. This was just the first place I thought of."

"The first place you were happy." Jake said, a small grin on his face. The grin immediately disappeared from his face when he looked back up at the house. "It's sad. I feel guilty."

"Why?" Troy asked, raising his thick dark eyebrows.

Jake's lips pressed together, forming a tight white line. "I remember him. Chad, I mean. He came to our youth group. I guess it may have been his last plea for help. I didn't… I didn't even talk to him. I asked him what his name was. I could've been more welcoming."

Troy chewed on the inside of his lip, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "You're a youth leader?" He asked quietly.

Jake nodded. "Yeah. At the Church of Christ. We have a really big group. Why? Are you interested?"

"Me?" Troy snorted. "I'm not the churchy folk."

Troy expected Jake to look offended, but he did no such thing. He simply nodded again. "A lot of people aren't. I wasn't as a teen either. You know, I didn't even care. I didn't think there was anything after death. I thought you just died and that was it and you never were anymore. I guess I kind of got into it when an old friend died. I had no where else to go."

"But you should check us out," Jake responded. "We meet every Wednesday night. It's a good time. Here's my card. Call if you need _anything_." He handed him a paper card, before giving him a small wave. He turned and walked down the sidewalk.

Troy turned the card over in his head. He crinkled it up and shoved it down in his pocket. "What a Jesus freak," he muttered to himself, before turning to walk back home.

* * *

"No," Tiffany laughed obnoxiously. "I swear."

Troy, on the other hand, looked completely serious. "Tiff, are you sure? Because that's not what Ethan told me. He told me you were all up on him at the party."

Tiffany shook her head, her smile fading as someone approached them in the coffee shop. "What?" She asked, bluntly, looking at the new arrival.

Troy looked up too. Gabriella Montez stood before them, a warm and comforting smile on her face. "Hello," she smiled. She was dressed in a pair of stone-washed jeans and a pink tank top, with a Victoria's Secret 'Pink' jacket over it.

"It's Sunday," Troy said. "Shouldn't you be in church or something?"

Tiffany laughed.

Though she knew they were poking fun at her, Gabriella's smile did not falter. She still smiled brightly, because she was just that strong, in the ways of the Lord. She held out her hand. The Holy Bible lay in her hand. She looked down upon it and smiled. "I came here to read."

"Okay," Tiffany said. "So why are you over here again? I'm trying to enjoy some alone time with my boyfriend."

"Oh, did I interrupt?" Gabriella asked. "I apologize then. I was just coming to say hello. I'll go now." And she danced off to the corner of the room, where she sat by herself and read her little Bible until the waiter approached her to ask what she wanted.

"She's such a weirdo," Tiffany spoke. "I swear she's on dope or something. No one in their right mind could be that happy."

"Hey," Troy laughed. "The power of God propels her!" Tiffany burst out laughing. Even as Troy made fun of her, he couldn't help his eyes from traveling over to her. As soon as he'd pry them off of her, they'd go right back. But thank the Lord Tiffany didn't notice.

* * *

"You made it!" Jason yelled, high-fiving his buddy, as Troy walked in the door. "Dude, I'm so glad you showed up! Tiff told me you might not be here!"

"Speaking of, where is she?" Troy asked, looking around the wild party. People were drinking alcohol. No one was around without a cup of beer in their hand. Couples and non-couples were grinding furiously. Troy scanned the room for the blonde, but she was no where in sight.

Jason shrugged. "I haven't seen her for a while. Last time I knew, she was dancing with Ethan."

Troy looked back at him, serious now. "With Ethan? Oh, man. Shit. I have to go find her."

"Why?" Jason asked, stopping Troy to grab his elbow. "They're fine. I'm sure they're just talking. She wouldn't do that to you."

"Yeah," Troy nodded.

"So just have some fun," Jason said. "Dance with some girls, get that alcohol in that body, broski."

Troy chuckled. "Will do." He turned to walk over to the table with the beer. He grabbed a plastic red cup filled with beer. And then he saw her. Not Tiffany, but Gabriella. She was at another party, with that same friend, Taylor, as before. He approached her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to face him, a smile on her face again. "Does God know you're here?"

Gabriella looked at him skeptically. "Are you really asking me that? God knows everything."

"Why would he want you to be here?" Troy asked. "With all this sex and grinding and shit?"

Gabriella sighed. "I'm not tempted," she replied. "I'm not drinking alcohol." She showed him her empty hands. "I haven't since I got here. I'm not smoking pot. I haven't ever. I'm not grinding. Does it look like I am? See? I'm not tempted."

"What about that 'lead us not into temptation' shit?" Troy asked, his voice a little more aggressive than he'd meant. "Doesn't that mean you shouldn't be here? Because you're only tempting yourself?"

"Maybe," Gabriella shrugged. "But I'm not staying that long anyway. I only came because Taylor made me. And I'm surprised you know your scripture."

"Taylor?"

"Yes, Taylor," Gabriella replied. "My best friend. Taylor McKessie. She's in our homeroom. She used to hang out with Chad all of the time."

"So did you," Troy spat out.

"Is that supposed to be offensive?" Gabriella asked. "Because you did as well."

"That was years ago. Things have changed, times have changed, people have changed. I've changed. I grew up. Chad didn't. That's not my fault that he was into school and comics and all that."

Gabriella glared at him. For once, a smile was not even visible on her face. "Is that how you're going to treat a kid who just killed himself? Do you not have any respect for anyone besides yourself?" She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. You'd rather be popular than be with Christ."

"Because I'm not some freak!" Troy retorted.

"Neither am I," Gabriella replied. "Just because I have a passion for God does not make me any different than you. It makes me a normal person, with values and beliefs and goals for life. You have dreams and values."

"I do?"

"Yes. You have a passion for basketball, don't you?" Gabriella said. "You have a passion for popularity, for more friends, for everyone to know your face. I'm going now. If you don't mind." She turned and squeezed through the crowds of people and walked right out of the party.

"There you are!" Tiffany exclaimed, as she approached Troy. "I just saw Gabriella leave. She looked pretty pissed. Were you talking to her?"

"Yeah," Troy snorted with laughter. "She gets offensive."

Tiffany laughed too and took Troy's hands, pulling him out to where everyone was grinding. She began to grind with him as well, joining in on the fun. "Where were you?" Troy asked. "I looked for you. Jason said you were with Ethan."

"Yeah," Tiffany nodded, avoiding Troy's gaze.

"Why were you with Ethan?" Troy asked, trying not to get all worked up and mad.

"We were just talking," Tiffany said.

"Sure, talking," Troy nodded. "Okay."

"What is your deal?" Tiffany asked, pulling away from him. "Why do you get so defensive, all of the time? You're starting to sound like Gabriella. It's quite annoying."

Troy snorted again. But this time, laughter had no place there. It was sarcasm. "And you don't think it's annoying that you're running off with other guys?"

"I didn't run off with any other guys, Troy!" Tiffany replied. "You're being fucking ridiculous."

"So are you!" Troy replied, running a hand through his dark hair. "You're only making things even harder than they already are."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tiffany demanded.

Sirens sounded outside. People began panicking and running out the back and front doors and jumping out the windows and hiding. Tiffany took Troy's hand, ready to run with him. But he yanked his hand away from her. "Fine," she said. "You're so stubborn. But risk your career and future. See if I care!" And she disappeared into the crowd of panicking people.

Troy groaned and ran upstairs. He went into Jason's room and locked the door behind him. He tiptoed over to the window and opened it quietly, being careful not to be heard by the police, who were obviously now entering the house and arresting people for underage drinking. He slid down the side of Jason's house, just as he had at his own house many times. He ran through the back yard, narrowly missing a police officer who had just chased someone back there. He jumped over the picket wooden fence and ran to the curb.

"Shit," Troy cursed. His truck was gone. Tiffany had taken his truck. He whipped out his phone, dialing her number. It ran several times, but no answer. He cussed again and chucked his phone at the fence, sitting down on the side of the road. He was too wasted and it was too far of a walk anyway to try and walk all the way home.

Troy picked up his phone again and dialed just about every number in his phone book, but no one would come and pick him up. "I guess now I see what they think of me," Troy mumbled. Then, he remember something. He was thankful he'd worn these jeans. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper and unwedded it. He pushed the digits into his phone and hit send.

"Hello?" The familiar voice asked.

"Jake, can you came and pick me up?"

Jake was there within about ten minutes. He opened the car door for Troy to get in. "Jesus!" He yelled. "Aren't you wasted? Jeez. I can smell the beer on you all the way over here."

"Are you going to give me a lecture?" Troy asked.

"No," Jake shook his head. "I'm not. Why don't you just tell me what happened?"

"I was fighting with this girl and I got drunk," Troy started.

"Wait, what girl?"

Troy thought for a minute. "Gabbyella," he slurred drunkenly.

"Montez?" Jake asked.

"Yesss," Troy replied, becoming interested in his finger nail. "You know… her?"

"Yeah, she's my stepdaughter," Jake said, looking over at Troy, waiting for his reaction.

Troy burst out into laughter. "Wait. Are you… serious? Gabriella is a… she's… a… uh… Oh. What was I talking about?"

"What is my stepdaughter?" Jake asked. "You were calling her something."

Troy shrugged. "Who's your stepdaughter again?"

"Gabriella."

"Oh. Right. Well, I can't… tell… you… now. She's your… stepdaughter and… all. But… if she wasn't… Then, maybe I could tell you, you know?"

Jake nodded and laughed quietly. "Here we are."

"Oh. Thanks for the ride… man."

"Anytime," Jake nodded. "Hey, but can you do me a favor?"

"Sure…"

"Will you come to my youth group Wednesday? Just try it. If you don't like it, you don't have to go back. I just want you to see what it's like."

"Um… Okay… But I want you to know… I like carrots." And then he leaned over and puked in Jake's car.

**A/N: REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

"_Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me." Troy heard the choir singing as he walked through the double doors of the Church of Christ. He wasn't sure what he was doing here. What could he possibly be doing in a church? But he had promised Jake that he would come tonight. After all, he owed him big time, for Jake picking him up and for Troy throwing up all over his car._

_He walked back into the youth room and entered the door as quietly as possible. Since it was completely crowded, Troy just stood in the back and leaned against the wall. He could leave as soon as Jake saw him. He didn't want to be there long anyway. Worshipping God wasn't exactly a part of his weekend. And neither was having to get up at nine in the morning just to be here._

_As soon as Troy took a look around, he saw that there were many people from his school in here. There were even people he would never expect to be here and here they were. Like, for instance, Claire. She was a cheerleader. And Amanda. She was a dancer on the school dance team. There were just a bunch of different people from school. But what caught his eye most was that Gabriella Montez and her friend Taylor were singing with the choir on the stage._

_Gabriella stepped out in front of the rest. "Through many dangers, toils, and snares, we have already come." She was singing a solo. And it was perfect. She had a pure and sweet voice; the voice of an angel. "'Twas Grace hath brought me safe thus far, and Grace will lead me home." She smiled as she sang._

_Troy felt totally weirded out as a creepy thought crossed his mind. Gabriella looked beautiful up there. That smile, the glow her face radiated. It was insane, but it was true. He even saw some of the guys in the audience checking her out. And for some reason, he felt kind of mad at them. He shrugged it off and listened to the song._

"_The Lord has promised good to me," Gabriella sang, still doing her solo. "His word, my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures." Her mocha brown eyes scanned the crowd, and paused when she saw Troy. "Yeah, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess within the veil, a life of joy and peace."_

_The rest of the choir stepped up next to Gabriella, and they all swayed gently on spot and joined in. "When we've been dead ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun," they all sang in perfect harmony. "We've no less days, to sing God's praise, than when we've first begun."_

"_Alright," Jake grinned, as he suddenly took place on stage, standing behind a wooden podium. "Thank you, choir." He clapped and so did the rest of the crowd._

_Troy didn't clap. He just stared at Gabriella as she took her seat, next to Taylor and a boy with greasy hair. Troy turned to leave, but stopped when he heard Jake begin speaking. "Today, I want to discuss something that's not our normal routine on a Sunday morning," he spoke, loudly, into his microphone on his podium. "I want to discuss life."_

_Troy turned around, just in time to see Jake pick up a framed picture and hold it out in front of him, for everyone to see. "This is Chad Danforth," he said. "Many of you may have known him. I know he went to some of yours' school."_

_There were some murmurs and chattering at the name. Gabriella turned in her seat and looked back at Troy. She gave him a soft smile, before turning to face the front again._

_Jake swallowed hard and continued. "I know this boy, because I preached a ceremony at his funeral. Death. When you hear that word, most of you think about dying comfortably in your room as an old woman, or an old man. Maybe you die in a nursing home, just of natural causes. Death is supposed to be peaceful, calm, easy._

"_But life isn't like that. You see, Chad Danforth committed suicide. Why? None of us will ever know. Maybe he was bullied. Maybe he was teased. Maybe he was just unloved. But the problem is, no one ever cared enough to ask him if he was okay, to check up on him, to make sure he was loved. No one ever approached him. When some of you passed him in the hallway, you may have stared at him like he was some kind of freak, you may have whispered some gossip in a friend's ear, you may have ignored him. Some of you didn't even know him, because you didn't take the time to._

"_I'm not singling any one of you out. Because I did just that exact thing. I knew Chad before his death. I'd only met him once, but I knew him. He came into our youth group the day before he killed himself. I'm positive this was his last plea of help. I didn't welcome him in. None of us did. So who's to say that we all didn't play a role in the death of Chad Danforth?" Jake asked. His eyes scanned the crowd and landed on Troy, just as Gabriella's had. "Who's to say that we couldn't have changed a life, made a difference, rearranged a life, saved a life?"_

_Troy swallowed hard, that same feeling of guilt taking over him once again. He wanted to turn and run out, and never come back. He wanted to hide, but he also wanted to be seen. And he also wanted to make a difference._

"_Is that not why we were put here on this Earth?" Jake pressed, peeling his gaze off of Troy, and looking over the rest of the room. "To preach the word of God and to save others from suffering fate's similar to that? Could we not have went to Chad, talked to him, and told him that even if he didn't think so, someone loved him? Could we not have told him that it wasn't the end, that he still had a God, Jesus, and maybe even ourselves?_

"_No," Jake shook his head. "We could have. But we didn't. Because we, even me, are all so judgmental, and when we see someone who's not like the rest of us, it makes a big difference, when it definitely shouldn't. Treat others as you want to be treated. Would any of you have liked to be treated like that? Of course not. You wouldn't want to have very few friends, be made fun of constantly, and be looked down upon all of the time. None of you would choose that path. But that's the problem. Chad didn't have the choice. He didn't get to choose."_

_Jake took a drink of his water. "So that's what I want all of you to leave here today with. I want you to go out and try to make a difference, try to save a life. Because that's what God wants us to do. So the next time you see someone walking alone in the hall, or sitting alone at lunch, why don't you join them or ask them to join you and your friends?_

"_Let's close in prayer today," Jake said. "Gabriella, would you like to pray today for us?"_

"_Sure," Gabriella smiled and she stood up and climbed back onto the stage. "Let's close our eyes and bow our heads." Troy did as she said. "Dear Lord, today, we are asking you to forgive us for our sins. We are all sinners and that is amazing for you to forgive us every time we mess up. And we would like to thank you for letting us be together here. And we are asking that you bless us, and our friends, and our family, and just help us to have a good day with you, Lord. In your name I pray, amen."_

"_Amen," some people from the crowd echoed. Everyone stood up and began gathering their things. Chattering and laughing filled the room and just as Troy turned to leave the room, Gabriella caught him by his elbow._

"_Hey," she smiled._

"_Hi," Troy replied._

"_You're here," she said._

"_Yeah, I guess I am," Troy said. "And I was just leaving."_

"_Why?" Gabriella asked. "You didn't like the sermon?"_

"_No," Troy shook his head. "It's not that… It's just… Uh, I have to go and meet Tiffany for lunch. So, um, yeah…" He turned around again._

"_Hey," Gabriella stopped him again. "Jake told me about what happened last night. That was really brave of you to call him. But not so great about the whole puking in the car thing."_

"_Yeah. I know. I apologized."_

"_And about the whole kind of fight thing we had at the party, I'm sorry. You were right. I shouldn't have been there. But I was right, too. I wasn't even tempted. I've never drank a single drop of alcohol and I've never smoke anything in my life. And I wasn't planning on it either."_

"_Yeah," Troy nodded. "I know. And I'm sorry too, I guess… I had no idea Jake was your step-dad."_

"_Mmhmm," Gabriella said, looking back at Jake, where he was talking to Taylor. "He married my mom about a year ago. He's a good guy."_

"_Yeah," Troy agreed. "Yeah, I guess he is."_

"_Well, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow," Gabriella replied. "Since you have to go meet Tiffany."_

"_Oh, right," Troy said. "I almost forgot. Well, um, bye then." Troy gave her an awkward wave, before actually turning around and leaving the church. He walked quickly, trying to avoid any other classmates who may have seen him, and he walked out into the parking lot. He jumped into his beat up truck and started the engine. He backed out of the parking lot and started down the highway home._

_Troy wasn't even going to meet Tiffany. He hadn't talked to her since last night, when she'd stolen his truck. All he knew was that she's brought his truck back over this morning and he didn't even know until he'd woken up. He wasn't even sure if they were on good terms or if they were fighting. He was kind of pissed about her freaking out on him last night, and then the whole stealing the truck thing. He figured she was still pissed too, because she was stubborn like that._

_Troy pulled into his driveway and got out of the truck. He walked into the front door of the house, to find his mom looking very stressed out, her hair a mess, and her face all red and screwed up. She gave Troy a crazy look, before storming up the steps, muttering things under her breath. Troy turned to his dad, looking utterly confused. "What's with her?" He asked, pulling out his phone to text Jason back._

_Jack shook his head. He looked a bit pissed himself. "I don't know. Women." He hesitated. "Wait. Where have you been?"_

_Troy's eyes traveled up from his phone. "What? Oh. I was at church." He shoved his phone back in his pocket and walked over to the refrigerator. He pulled it open and grabbed a Coke from it._

_Jack gave him a weird look._

"_What?" Troy asked, getting suddenly defensive. He pulled the tab back on his Coke can. "I was at church," Troy repeated._

_Jack gave him the same look. "Are you insane?"_

"_What's the big deal?" Troy asked, taking a swig of his Coke._

_Jack scoffed. "Are you serious? You have Championships in six weeks! You should be practicing, exercising, coming down hard! The team needs you to win! You can't win if you're listening to preacher's preaching soppy sermons about Jesus and how he died for you! You'll have time for that later, after you win the game."_

_Troy ran a hand through his hair. "Dad, I get it. I know we need to practice for the game. But that doesn't mean I need to spend every moment of my day practicing."_

"_Oh, it doesn't?"_

"_No, it doesn't." Troy responded, rolling his eyes. "I am a teenager and I do have a life other than basketball, believe it or not. I have a girlfriend, friends, and other important things to worry about right now, okay dad?"_

"_No, not okay," Jack replied. "You have to crack down, Troy! Do you think you would actually have any friends and a girlfriend if it weren't for the team?"_

"_What the hell is wrong with you?" Troy demanded._

"_Don't speak to me like that, Troy!" Jack said in an angry tone. "I only want what's best for you. To get a scholarship, you need to win this game, because you sure as hell can't get one with those grades of yours."_

_Troy shook his head. "No wonder you and mom are fighting so much. You've turned into a total jerk." He turned on his heel and stomped up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door behind him. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He flipped it open. "Hello?"_

"_Hey, dude, what's up?" Jason asked._

"_Just fighting with my dad," Troy replied._

"_About what?" He asked._

"_I don't know," Troy said. "He's totally being fucking gay. Anyways, what's the deal?"_

"_Um, man… I'm not sure how to tell you this… But, uh, something happened with Tiffany last night," Jason said. "Bro, I'm so sorry. I was drunk and… I think she too, so, like…"_

"_What do you mean by 'something happened'? What's going on?"_

"_I drove to her house to get away from the police, right?" Jason asked. Troy said nothing at all. He just listened. "And she asked me to stay over so we could return your truck in the morning, so I did. And we were… I don't even remember. But I know we were both drunk as hell and it wasn't supposed to happen. I swear to God."_

"_Wait," Troy stopped him. "You fucked my girlfriend?"_

"_Um… Yeah?" Jason said hesitantly._

"_What is wrong with you?" Troy asked angrily, rage taking over him. "We're supposed to be friends."_

"_So we're not cool, then?" Jason asked._

"_Hell no," Troy replied. "Don't call me anymore and don't talk to me at school tomorrow either."_

"_You're acting like a chick," Jason said. "You're being a total drama queen."_

"_Does it sound like I care?" Troy spoke, flipping the phone shut and chucking it across the room. It hit the wall with a loud thump and fell to the floor with a thud. He let out a loud exasperated sigh and fell back on his bed. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his temples. Things definitely weren't going his way today. "This is ridiculous," Troy mumbled._

_A sudden thought came to his mind. It sounded insane, but Troy didn't care. He got up and picked up his phone. He dialed a familiar number and pressed the phone up to his ear. "Hey, Jake?" He said, his heart pounding in his chest."_

"_Yeah?" Jake asked._

"_It's Troy. Is Gabriella there?"_

_**A/N: Sorry this chapter is kind of short. Forgive me and review! (:**_


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